Closing Time
by HartToHart
Summary: Oneshot. Zoe and Wade always find a way back to each other. AU set after 2x9. Wade and Zoe didn't get back together at Christmas, set a few months later.


**A little something that just seemed to write itself, I was listening to Semisonic - Closing Time as I wrote it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hart of Dixie :) **

**Hope you guys enjoy it.**

She sat laughing and talking with her new found friends, AnnaBeth, Cricket and weirdly…Lemon. Since arriving in Bluebell over a year ago Zoe Hart had been many things but the most common was definitely surprising. She surprised everyone. Turned out she really did have what it took to be a beloved…if slightly kooky small town GP. She had tried harder than anyone had expected to get to know her father's legacy and it still surprised people when they saw the freshly laid roses on Harley Wilkes' grave every Sunday. She never forgot. One of the biggest surprises though was her friendships with the Belle's. Sure, the newfound alliance was just that…new but it seemed pretty tight. Zoe and Lemon who had finally put their differences over George aside were whispered conspiratorially in the corner as AnnaBeth and Cricket giggled. Lemon pushed Zoe lightly on the shoulder in an 'oh stop it!' fashion and Wade couldn't help but smile as Zoe burst into a hoot of laughter, scrunching up her little nose as she begged Lemon to stop whatever it was that was making her laugh so hard. It was nice to see her laugh…and smile. Sometimes he forgot how much she'd been though moving to Bluebell and after with her mother and father…and Harley. She was so tough and unwilling to discuss her 'issues' that sometimes he forgot she had any. Well, until she blew her top and he remembered what had made her such a basket case in the first place.

Wade broke his gaze as he realised that he'd been polishing the same glass for over five minutes, really just wiping the dirty rag around it until it needed a good washing again. He served a couple of customers, sent Shelley off on her break early and leaned back on the familiar bar as he heard the familiar sound of her expensive heels approaching. "Hey Waaaaaaaade." She drawled out his name, reminding him of that first night in his car, those many months ago. He slipped a glass of wine towards her instinctively and she smiled pleasantly at him. "You remembered?" She took a sip, nodding in approval.

"Pinot, chilled, bottled not boxed." He recited doing an uncanny impersonation of her. "Now let me guess…a long island iced tea for Lemon, red wine for Cricket and an Alabama Slammer for AB?" Wade grinned as he got the three girls down to a tee.

"That's quite a skill you got there mister." Zoe smirked, splaying her finger out over the bar top so their pinkies grazed. Wade could feel the spark surge through his body as her fingers brushed his. Clearly his throat he busied himself with the drinks. "I'll have another." Zoe announced as she drained the last of her glass just as he finished making AnnaBeth's cocktail.

"Don't you think you've had enough for tonight Doc?" Wade asked, sounding almost concerned.

She scoffed, trying to grab the drinks from his hands as she slid from the stool. "I'm fine Waaaaade."

"Hmmmm." He replied, not really daring to disagree with the wound up little New Yorker. "Let me get them then." He picked up the tray, and another glass of wine for her as he followed her back to their table.

Two hours later he watched as Zoe rested her forehead on the sticky table top, Cricket patting her on the back as they all gathered up their coats and purses. Lemon jostled Zoe's arm trying to revive her a little but it had no effect. AnnaBeth was pulling Cricket towards the door, rolling her eyes at Zoe while Lemon waltzed her way over to the bar. "Wade…we appear to have hit a teensy tiny little problem." She twisted her fingers in front of her chest as she pleaded with the Casanova bar tender. He raised one eyebrow in reply, following Lemon's gaze over towards the passed out Doctor. "Zoe doesn't appear to be able to err…get herself home."

"So you want me to drive the Doc back?" Wade asked as he continued to rub down the bar.

"If you would be so kind." Lemon simpered, flashing what she already knew to be a winning smile. "You know how Zoe gets when she's been drinking and how she'll only listen to you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll do it Lemon but you gotta stop leadin' the girl astray." He joked, as Lemon reached out to punch him lightly on the shoulder. "I'll make sure she gets home safe."

With that Lemon and cronies left the now deserted bar. As he walked around the little establishment, dimming the lights and sweeping an old broom around the corners he felt himself relax. The jukebox was coming to the end of its rotation and a song that reminded him of long summer's nights out way past curfew lying on the hood of his car with whatever girl he was wooing that week tucked under his arm as the song played on the stereo. "Closing time." Wade said to himself, remembering the name of the track as he brushed the dust from the floor and straightened chairs and tables, careful not to wake Zoe. She looked so peaceful, sitting there with her cheek pressed against the table, her wavy brown hair shielding half her face from view as she slept. Her feet dangled a few inches off the floor with her skyscraper heels hanging off them. As he locked up the kitchens and cashed up the till Wade watched her, drinking her in.

Twenty minutes later as he stood beside her in the deserted establishment he sighed, he hadn't expected her to still be sleeping. Picking up her purse in one hand he leaned in towards her tucking one hand under her knees and scooping her deftly into his arms. She grumbled softly, brushing her cheek tenderly against the flannel of his shirt and smiling in her comatose state. Wade couldn't help but laugh a little, carrying her out towards his Camero. As he manoeuvred her into the passenger seat and buckled her up he felt a strange warm sensation bubbling away in his stomach. It had been so long since he'd had anyone to care for like this, to enjoy taking care of. It creeped him out a little bit to realise that she reminded him of his Momma. Not in the way that she looked or acted, but in the way that she was one of the only people in the world he didn't mind doing favours for, in fact he relished the chance to prove himself worthy.

He doubled back to lock up the Rammer Jammer, tucking the keys into his jeans pocket as he yanked open the driver's door and clambered in beside his still snoozing passenger. "Well aren't you going to be a hoot and half on the way home." He murmured to himself as he started the engine. "A real fun road trip buddy." The winding back roads around Bluebell were like his home turf, he knew them like the back of his hand so as he sped around corners and up the familiar dirt tracks he watched her sleep. The way her lips were slightly parted, her breathing deep and mellow and that little snuffly noise she made every now and then. Startled as she flopped sideways, her head resting on his shoulder Wade grinned down at her. He reached a hand across to push her bangs to the side so he could see her face more clearly and he realised that she was still sound asleep. "Damn girl." He murmured as he let her rest her head there.

The ride felt longer than usual, or maybe he was driving more carefully now she had had head on him but Wade made the minutes tick by. Another minute he could breathe in that intoxicating combination of her sweet apple shampoo and that perfume that she wore that reminded him of vanilla custard. Finally when he could spin out the journey no longer, they drew up in front of her home and he gently eased her back onto her own seat, tilting her face into the headrest as he walked around the body of the car, opening her door and scooping her carefully into his arms once more. Her head lolled against his shoulder as he climbed her porch steps, stepping in through her screen door and laying her gently onto her freshly made bed. He ran a hand down his exhausted face, unsure what to do next. She would need water and a bucket but he knew she'd freak if he left her to sleep with her make up on, ranting about acne and clogged pores for at least a week. He pottered around her carriage house, unearthing cleansing wipes, bottled water and a bright pink bucket which he placed next to her bed – along with some asprin for good measure. He tenderly wiped away her makeup and with a little difficulty managed to remove her contacts. Stroking her long brown curls off her face he watched her doze, her lips opening and shutting a few times as she mumbled incoherently in her sleep. Feeling a little odd to be doing this while she was unconscious Wade began to unbutton her shirt, slipping it off her shoulders and drawing it slowly from beneath her and he eased her skirt down over her slender hips. He knew she'd feel uncomfortable being undressed under these circumstances but the sweltering Alabama heat made it impossible to sleep in anything besides underwear these days. Neatly folding her clothes and placing them on her chair Wade pulled her into his arms again, flipping back the sheet and tucking her in beneath the light cotton. Her brown waves cascaded across her bare shoulder as Wade pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Sleep tight princess."

Deciding against leaving her alone Wade stretched out along her sofa, removing only his shirt as he struggled to get comfortable. His dreams were plagued with images of her delectable figure, her toned midriff, pert breasts and shapely thighs. He dreamt of her lips pressing forcefully against his. She was pressing her hips against him, encouraging him. Her soft silky skin was under his rough fingertips, raising goosebumps as her touched her intimately.

Zoe rolled over in bed, her carriage house still in darkness as she groped around for her alarm clock. 3am…what was she doing up…what was she doing home? The last thing she remembered was ordering another glass of wine at the bar. How did she get home? How did she get her clothes off? She felt around on the nightstand and unscrewed the cap on a bottle of water she hadn't placed there, the beginnings of a hangover already creeping up on her. Looking blearily through the darkness Zoe made out a shape on the couch. She slipped from between the sheets, tiptoeing across towards the sleeping body as it let out of small groan.

Wade.

Zoe stood watching him sleep for a moment. Even in her drunken haze she knew she missed him. She missed their…whatever they had been. Friends with benefits, fuck buddies if you wanted to be crude. They had been that and more to each other. Neither knew how to move it to the next level and eventually it had just fizzled out, crowded with jealousy and uncertainty. She brushed her hand down his face affectionately and as his eyes slowly opened, widening at the sight of her standing before him brazenly in just her bra and panties his mouth opened. Taking his hand in hers she pulled him to his feet, tugging him backwards towards her bed. Her surgeon's hands deftly unbuckled his belt, shucking his jeans to the floor before sliding beneath the covers, waiting for him to join her.

He slid in behind her, curling his body around hers as he breathed in her familiar scent and buried his face in her hair. Her hands moved around to her back, unhooking her bra which she flung from the bed. Taking his uncertain hand she draped it across her stomach, letting his fingers splay out over the smooth skin as she inched it further north. His thumb grazed the curvature of her breast and he pressed a chaste kiss to her exposed shoulder. "Pinch me now." He murmured as he shut his eyes. "I must be dreaming."


End file.
